Questions, when used in business planning, are more powerful than statements because they make us think and formulate our own answers. They encourage us to consider our situation, environment, abilities, and resources. See if any of these serve you at the moment.

I seem to be recommending mind maps to artists with great frequency these days, so I thought it would be useful to review what they are and how you can use them in your art business. A mind map is a tool for brainstorming or organizing your ideas. Mind maps are great for creatives and artists because they put words and ideas in a visual format.

Throughout my years in business, I have found timelines to be invaluable for planning. Regardless of how much or little you have going on, timelines help you sleep better at night since you know you have all of your bases covered. I created five timelines to help.

It’s never too early to start promoting your open studio, book launch, event, or exhibition. Creating anticipation means you are building expectation, excitement, and suspense! If you have a major event in the future, don’t wait until a month or two before it begins to tell people about it. Start dripping information about it now.

Most artists don’t want to think about what might go wrong in their businesses. It’s not sexy to talk about backing up, getting insurance, or mitigating risk. Art Biz Blog readers (you!) know that these unsexy topics are necessary to confront. Do not put this off. Right about now you’re probably saying Bor-ing! and you want to leave. But this is critical. Take a look at any of the stories on the Craft Emergency Relief Fund (CERF+) website and you’ll see that many artists haven’t acted in time.

If you have a big event or art exhibition coming up, don’t wing it. Create a promotional plan for peace of mind. 1. Define the individual tasks – make each one as specific as possible. They should require just one step to complete. David Allen calls them next actions.

An anonymous artist sent me an email with these stats. The painting she is sending to a juried art exhibition sells for $1200. Other fees involved – which don’t include material, labor, or office time – are: